period: 1492: Conquest of Paradise

1492: Conquest of Paradise

Big budget account of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the Americas. Released in 1992 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery. Shows the disastrous effects the Europeans had on the original inhabitants, and Columbus’ struggle to civilise the New World. Isabella 0f Castile (Sigourney Weaver) was the expedition’s sponsor.

Yet again we see Columbus demonstrating, using an orange, that the world is round. That is not what his opponents were disputing; they accepted that, but they – correctly – did not believe his assessment of the distance to the Indies via a Western route; fortunately for Columbus he unintentionally (re)discovered the Americas before he starved to death.